


The Discovery

by saturnian



Series: Office Romance [5]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Public Display of Affection, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2016-10-06
Packaged: 2018-08-19 22:05:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8226202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saturnian/pseuds/saturnian
Summary: You and Barba enjoy a rare night out when your secret romance is revealed. Asses are grabbed, alcohol is consumed, and Carisi is vindicated.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a loooooong time ago, but was never really satisfied with it so it was never posted - I'm tired of it sitting in my drafts so here it is. I don't like all the POV switches, but hopefully it's not too difficult to follow. Anyway, this takes place near the end of S17 but before the finale (given the presence of one certain character haha). This is going to be the final piece to this little series about Barba x FBI reader's relationship, but I definitely have some Barba x General Reader stuff planned for the future if y'all are interested! As always, I'm terrible at titles and any feedback is greatly appreciated!

The squad had finally closed a seemingly never-ending case and were ready to celebrate. 

“Hey Lieu, why don’t we all go down to that new place off 32nd? The game’s on tonight and we deserve some downtime,” When his suggestion wasn’t shot down Carisi continued, “You comin’ Rollins? I’m sure your sitter can stay for another hour?” 

Carisi’s good mood was infectious and besides, the game _was_ on tonight, so they all agreed. It was rare that a case in sex crimes ended on a positive note and they were going to take advantage of it. 

* * *

You and Barba sat in a booth off the main floor of the bar. It had been nearly a week since you had last seen him. Somehow you both had managed to squeeze in a quick date between your crazy schedules. You were currently pressed up against him with his arm resting comfortably behind your shoulders. 

“How was your day, amorcita?” 

“It was pretty boring actually mostly catching up on paperwork. How’d your case go?” 

For the past month Barba had been consumed with work. He spent countless hours poring over court precedents and analyzing his case from every angle determined to get justice for the victims. You hoped all his hard work paid off and, selfishly, you hoped that a verdict would be reached soon so you could finally spend more time with him. 

“Jury's still out, but if I had to bet I’d say we’re getting a guilty verdict.” 

“I hope they put that smug bastard away for life.” You grimaced as you thought back to your brief yet overwhelmingly unpleasant meeting with Buchanan and his smarmy client Rutherford. Defense attorneys always gave you the creeps, well except for Calhoun, she was brilliant. 

“Buchanan actually thought I’d offer his client a plea, can you believe it?” Rafael swallowed the rest of his scotch. 

“I’m sure you let him know otherwise.” 

“Oh, I did. No way in hell I was going to plea him down. His client murders two women and he thinks I'm going to let him walk with manslaughter? And only one count at that!” Barba scoffed incredulously. 

“My big, bad prosecutor - cleaning up the streets one scumbag at a time.” 

He shot you an indulgent grin and squeezed your shoulder. As much as you teased him, you were still his biggest supporter. Barba went to take another sip, but was met with half melted ice. Tomorrow was Friday and he rarely indulged, so what the hell. Time for a refill. 

* * *

After a few drinks the conversation flowed freely. Usually she would rush home to Noah, but tonight she was focused on her squad. Every now and then it was good for them to decompress and laugh a bit. Dodds had even decided to join in and Olivia was eager to get to know him better; after working together for a few months he was still a little on the quiet side. But to be fair, the only time he had ever really interacted with the squad as a whole was at the precinct and she had to admit, a night of cheap beer and bad jokes fostered a sense of comradery much better than any night working a case. 

Her musings were cut short as Carisi jumped from his seat and began wildly pointing. 

“No way! Fin, get ready to pay up because your bona fide proof is sitting across the room!” Carisi grinned, his dimples out in full force. 

“What are you talkin’ about now Carisi?” 

“Right over there – one grouchy lawyer and one sarcastic FBI agent. Together. On a date. And you can’t tell me they aren’t on a date, look how close they’re sitting!” 

They all turned to follow Carisi’s outstretched arm. Sure enough, directly across from their table a couple was sitting in a booth. It was difficult to make out the faces from this angle, but there was no mistaking either of your identities – Barba’s suit and your hair, styled in its usual fashion, were dead giveaways. 

“Well I’ll be damned.” Fin said. “Don’t get used to it Carisi, but you were right.” He pulled a twenty from his wallet and threw it on the table. 

“You too Rollins, you’re not getting outta this one!” Carisi held out his hand and grinned.

“Alright, alright. Give me a minute.” Rollins said. “I know we always pick on them, but I didn’t really think they were together or anything, just thought they were blowing smoke.” 

* * *

You and Barba wandered up to the bar. He ordered another scotch and watched you browse the menu. 

“Oh are you ordering a drink too? On my bill?” His face was a mask of innocence. 

“Rafael we’re having a nice night,” you warned. “Yes I’m getting a drink and of course you’re paying. I don’t know why you’d think otherwise.” 

He smirked, wrapping his arm around your waist pulling you close, “Well if that’s the case, you better put out.” 

You rolled your eyes, but smiled nonetheless. “Mr. Barba I am not that kind of girl.” 

He wriggled his eyebrows, “That’s not what I heard.” 

You let out an exaggerated gasp and slapped him lightly on the arm. It was always fun when Rafael was in a playful mood. 

* * *

“Okay guys, we don’t need to stare. We’re all adults here.” Olivia admonished. She shook her head, did they really have to gawk? “It’s not like we’ve never seen him in public before.” 

Fin smirked, “Yeah but usually he’s with us, not a date. Didn’t think Barba had it in him!” 

“This is so weird, it’s like seeing your teacher outside of school,” Rollins continued gawping at the couple, her mouth hanging open, “He’s not supposed to have a personal life – it’s not right.” 

“Did ya think Barba just lived in his office Rollins? Only venturing out to argue a case?” 

“Honestly Carisi, I never gave it much thought. But y’all have to admit, it’s weird seeing him so… so casual right? And with her too? That explains why he’s been so pleasant lately, well pleasant for Barba anyway, he’s been getting lai-”

“Amanda!” 

“What? Sorry Liv, we’re all thinking it!” Fin and Carisi laughed while Rollins maintained her guiltless expression. 

“I don’t know why this is so shocking?” Dodds said as he levelled the group with a stare. He had been quiet during all of the commotion, nursing his beer in the corner and letting the others gossip. 

“Whaddya mean Sarg?” 

“They’ve been seeing each other for months now… The city’s not that big, we were bound to run into them sometime.” Dodds answered plainly. That piqued Olivia’s interest. She knew her and Barba weren’t exactly on the best terms since Tuckergate, but she really doubted he and Dodds were all that close. Unless of course he was talking to everyone but her. Knowing Barba’s obstinate nature that was a definite possibility. 

“Hold up, are you tellin’ me you _knew_ they were together?” Fin asked. His dumbfounded expression was mirrored by the rest of the squad. 

“Well yeah? It was pretty obvious I thought, what with all the flirting. And you people call yourselves detectives.” Dodds smirked. 

“Whatever, man. They’ve been like that since the beginning, the real issue is you kept this to yourself.”

“Um we can talk about this later, right now you need to direct your attention to Barba!” Rollins interrupted, frantically gesturing towards the bar. 

Again, the squad’s gaze shifted back to the couple in question. The two of you were practically glued together – definitely too close to be considered proper. Barba’s arm was still planted firmly on your waist. His hand, however, was currently rubbing circles on the curve of your hip and progressively moving lower. They watched, unable to look away, as he reached down to grab a handful of your ass. 

“Yeah Counselor!” Carisi raised his beer in Barba’s direction. Fin and Dodds began laughing and despite the eye roll, Olivia couldn’t squash the small smile that played at her lips. Barba deserved to be happy, although, it wouldn’t hurt for him to be happy a little less… publicly. 

“Okay so who knew Barba was handsy?! This is weird, so, so weird.” Amanda rubbed her temples and shook her head. Maybe if she rubbed hard enough she could erase the image. Nope. There it was, seared into her brain. Probably forever. Barba’s hand squeezing your ass cheek. His 

shit-eating grin and the heated look you threw him in return. Gross. “On that note, I think it’s time for me to go.” 

“Aw you don’t have to go right now, do ya Rollins?” Carisi whined, looking more like a puppy than a grown man. 

“Uh, yeah. I’d much rather watch Jessie gurgle and drool than those two who, by the way, look like they’re on the way to committing a class B misdemeanor.” 

“Wait for me, I’ll walk with you. I miss my little one too.” Olivia gathered her belongings and followed Rollins to the door, but not before warning the guys to behave.” 

Fin jumped right back to the matter at hand as soon as the women were out of earshot, “So, do we embarrass them now, or later?” 

“Later. Definitely later.” Carisi nodded. 

“Or you could not do anything at all and let them tell you when they’re ready…” Dodds trailed off, looking at Fin and Carisi expectantly. When he was met with twin looks of exasperation he backtracked, “…on second thought you could ignore me completely and use this as ammunition the next time Barba gets snappy?” 

Fin smiled, clapping Dodds on the back, “Now that’s something I can get behind. Welcome to the team Dodds!” The men raised their drinks in toast while the happy couple in question continued on in their own little bubble, oblivious to anything outside of each other.


End file.
